Twilight Princess: Alternate Ending
by Maelstrome
Summary: It always bothered me how Zant was shafted at the end of Twilight Princess to be replaced by a characterless Ganon. This story details my take on how I believe the the story should have ended. Note that I took some liberties and used the TP manga for some minor detailing. So sit back and enjoy as we join Link and Midna on their way to the throne room... Updates on Fridays.
1. Teetering on the Brink

Link thundered down the wide halls of the twilight palace, sword at the ready, the blade glowing with the light energy of the shadowed realm. The green clad warrior knew that soon he was going to face his final opponent, the madman behind the hostile take over of his homeland. He turned his fierce blue eyes to Midna who had slipped from his shadow and was hovering by his side. As he ran, he noticed her visible eye was filled with as much determination as he felt.

"The throne room is just ahead Link." Midna spoke in her disjointed speech. Her voice was low and serious, vastly different from her usually playful manner, but understandable given the situation.

Ever since they entered the twilight realm Link had noticed her acting different, as if being home unlocked her true nature some how. In a way he could almost see hints of the ruler she must have been before. Perhaps seeing her people in such suffering had turned her somber or perhaps all that time she was merely masking her true pain under a guise that better suited her current form.

The sound of Links boots across the floor reverberated off of the empty passage way and high up into the ceiling as the pair came to a massive door that held a magnificent lock. Shackles ran down the corners sealing the door shut. The aqua twili patterns along the door and walls seemed to glow faintly as they approached.

Midna didn't bother to stand on ceremony and used her hair to shove final big key into the lock, ripping it from the chains after the key clicked into place. The broken chain links clattered loudly to the floor, the massive lock hitting the ground with a metallic thud. The aqua patterns on the door suddenly sprung to life forming an intricate glyph that shot outward and enveloped the door before it ascended, allowing the two hero's entry to the room beyond.

A simple stair case rose up past the door and link darted up the steps, taking them two at a time before entering a rather large square chamber with another smaller staircase leading up to a dais which held the throne upon which sat the usurper king himself.

The air seemed to thicken as Link slowed to a walk, approaching the tyrant. Midna immediately lept in front of him, eyes ablaze.

"Zant." She began, "Isn't this ironic? Here we are, all thanks to the dark magic curse you placed on Link."

Her tone was serious but she let out a venomous smile. This creep was going to get exactly what he deserved and his downfall was all because of one little mistake he made. Her hands rested on her hips, chin high as if implying that even in her diminutive form she was still far superior.

Zant remained silent a long time. His helmet was still on but it seemed as if he was looking down either in thought or asleep. Before Midna could demand his attention he finally spoke, his voice low.

"You all speak of magic?" he stated, raising his head slightly. Midna's eyes narrowed, uncertain as to who he was talking about but she said nothing as the false king stood.

"Dark magic, light magic, even the magic of a god." The tall helmet Zant wore lifted, receding back into his armor revealing his golden eyes. Midna was shocked a moment, she had seen his eyes many a time, filled with a lust for power and coldness but now they held madness. As if he was teetering on the brink of insanity.

If Zant saw the look she was throwing at him he either ignored it or was too far gone to notice it as he continued on with his ramble.

"Why is it that no magic can seem to defy any of you? Not even the power of a _god_ can deal with two mortal whelps such as this!"

The kings voice seemed to raise in pitch as he began to shake with anger and frustration. Midna glanced at Link who brought his sword protectively in front of her. The air in the room was suddenly alive with energy that crackled in the air like fire. A deep booming voice sounded that seemed to come from everywhere at once.

"It is not my power which is the problem, but your weakness and incompetence." The sound was malicious and caused Links hair to stand on end. Something about it echoed within him and it made the triforce on his left hand shine bright.

"Incompetence, arrogance, stupidity." The voice spat in annoyance as the energy seemed to take form into orange and black flickers of flame that danced around the air.

"None could accomplish what I did!" Zant immediately retorted, waving a sleeved arm to keep the embers from him. "I brought Hyrule to it's knee's. _I_ took out most of the light spirits and _I_ took the throne that was rightfully mine in both realms. What little power you gave me was nothing I could not have achieved on my own, yet when I did have need of it to take care of these two little insects, it failed."

Bitterness and rage flooded his voice that had somehow managed to get even higher. Zant looked ready to pounce at the air as if he could attack the offending voice and get it away from him but before he could make a move the voice thundered so loudly that Link had to cover his ears.

"Then, allow me show you the correct use of my power. ALLOW ME TO SHOW YOU HOW IT'S DONE!" All the little flames around the throne room flickered a moment before they rushed strait for Zant each ember embedding itself into him like a fiery veil.

The room began to shake and all the serene blue patterns started turning crimson. Shadows sprung up around the walls, sealing the windows and exits with a curtain of darkness. Link jumped in front of Midna who was momentarily stunned before darting back into the safety of his shadow.

Shield up, the hero waited as the ball of flame that had engulfed the king of twilight died down slightly leaving the flaming bipedal form of the twili in it's wake. The fiery mass jumped down the stairs in front of link and produced two long black swords from it's sleeves. Zant's helmet was back on but it was very clear that this was not the man they were just witnessing. His stance, posture and presence were completely changed. Whatever that fire was, it now had a hold of him and with the madness they had witnessed it was unlikely Zant was going to break himself out of it anytime soon.


	2. Possession of the Tyrant King

The sound of sword's clashing filled the room as Link fought on. Zant's moves were slow but brutal, each strike causing the master sword to ring from the hit. The embers that still spouted from his body seemed as if they were trying to leap onto Link each time they came together.

Blocking another hit, Link was brought to a knee before rolling out of the way of the second strike. Silently, Midna quickly slipped out of the shadows and placed an urgent hand on links arm. He didn't have the luxury of turning his eyes from his opponent but he grunted, signifying he was listening as he danced away from another strike that left a large slice in the floor.

"Link," she whispered quickly, "It's hard for me to pin point his attack pattern, I have never seen him use it before. He's really not acting like himself I think her really got possessed by whatever that spirit was."

The hero frowned, he'd already pieced that much together. He assumed she was going to say more but a screech erupted from his enemy as the dark blades Zant held were suddenly surrounded by the flames that licked his body as well.

Dread welled up in Links chest as he raised his shield against a deadly beam of energy that burst forth from the weapons. He could feel himself loosing ground and get pushed back no matter how he dug into the floor.

Through the shield he could feel the heat of the attack on his arm and he let out a cry as he was finally knocked from the ground and sent hurtling into the far wall.

Midna gasped as she moved around to links side trying to shake him back into action.

"Common Link! Get back up! We have to expel that spirit from him somehow or we won't be able to beat him." She knew that she could only observe in her current state. She was getting frustrated by her uselessness, she just needed to find a way to decode his pattern and find a way to split the two apart.

Nodding, link stood using his sword as a crutch as he glanced at the hylian shield that was still strapped to his arm. It's entire front face was melted from the heat leaving barely a centimeter of metal between any attack and his arm. Making a quick decision he tossed the shield away readying his word against the possessed king who was now stalking towards him.

Link thought back to all the techniques he picked up on his journey, he didn't have much room being squished to the wall but perhaps he could get around his opponent...

Waiting patiently as the king came closer, Link eyed his surroundings. he doubted he would have another chance to do this technique and with the shape of Zant's helmet he wasn't certain the helm- splitter would even work on him. That left him one option.

Link held his sword out as if he was charging a spin attack and that's when a dark voice rumbled out from the advancing figure.

"Run out of idea's have you, Hero?" Zant spoke with the voice of two, his own and the spirit yet the words seemed to have come only from the spirit.

"Tch..." Link muttered, bracing himself as the flames started to spiral once more around the black blades.

Just as the energy beam was sent out once more, orange and pink flames charging form from the weapons, Link spun out of the way tucking in the master sword as he skirted around his opponent. Quickly he gave a spiraling slash upward, not even bothering to stop his momentum as he heard the cutting of fabric and flesh.

A golden light burst from Links hand, a sparkling radiance swirling around the sol powered master sword and slicing through the flames that surrounded Zant. The green garbed hero was shocked but followed through with his motion and continued strait through to the other side of the room before standing at the ready sword pointed aimed at his adversary.

Zant twitched violently, the flames forming daggers as they pierced the wound to his back to cauterize it. He was bent over a moment, an arm spasming as if in defiance before rigidly turn back towards the hylian.

"Link that's it." Midna cried leaping from his shadow, eyes wide. "You have to use your piece of the triforce with the master word. Blast him to bits!"

"You won't get the chance." Link's foe proclaimed, readying yet another of those energy beams, yet all the fire seemed to recede from it's host and onto the blades this time, a violent red mixing into the orange hue.

There was no time to debate and Link had suspected as well that such a thing was the key to this victory. Taking a deep breath he closed his eyes, focusing all his energy onto the spot on his hand and imagining it flowing freely onto his blade.

Upon opening his eyes the master sword was humming with energy the blade from the energy even longer and glowing so bright he had to squint to see past it.

Just in time, the possessed king unleashed his attack and link dashed forward to slice through the energy beam but as he slashed his sword out, a beam of his own erupted hitting his opponents square on. They two powers contested a moment before the light won out, piercing strait through the demonic flames and hitting Zant square in the chest.

Two voices roared out in pain as the shadow swords crumbled into dust. The blinding light Expanded as if a star was forming within the throne room before it die down with an audible woosh.

Link's arm, which was guarding his eyes, fell as he looked to see if he had succeed in besting his foe but his heart skipped a beat the moment he saw Zant still standing. The hero's shoulders tensed immediately but after a moment he realized that he was in no immediate danger.

The king stood, yes, but more likely from a fluke. His garb was torn to bits, armor broken off, his masked cracked in a jagged line down it. Zant's entire form smoked but not a single ember remained that danced around him. After a moment he fell to his knee's and then collapsed onto the ground.

Link relaxed but it was too shortly lived as the orange flames erupted around him before forming into a massive shadowed face in front of him. The floating head opened its mouth wide as if it was intending to swallow the hylian whole.

Wasting no time, the hero slashed, the sword far duller than when he had entered the fight, but still bright enough with the power of the sol to do damage to any dark spirit. The face split apart before reforming and going in for another attack.

It was Midna's turn, as she sprung from Link's shadow, a dark orb crackling with amaranth energy already charged in her hands that she hurled at the flaming demon.

It was enough of a nuisance that the faces attention was divided offering Link another opportunity to attempt to cut through it. Again the head dodged away like cutting through liquid but this time the flames curled around links arm, making quick work of the leather bracer as it burned down to his flesh.

Link let out a cry of pain as Midna sped to charge another orb of energy. Silently she cursed her form more and more. If she only had her real power she would have been able to best this thing already.

Much to the surprise of all those invested in the fight, a couple of blasts in quick succession pelted the flaming form. Naturally it turned in surprise but that moment was enough to give Midna the time to charge her own attack. With an angry cry she hurled it at the spirit and just as it hit, Link was able to regain his bearings, switching his sword to his right arm and slashing downward with all his might.

The monster let out an agonized howl of pain and rage, dissipating from view for a moment. It was enough time for the twilight princess and the hero to glance over and see Zant shakily getting to his feet. His eyes filled with as much rage as the screams of the phantom held.

He barely spared the other two a glance before he began charging another ball of his attack. Midna and Link exchanged looks before charging up their own and gingerly crept closer to the still screeching ghost.

"Traitors, cowards! I'll burn all of you!" It roared with such venom and hatred it was nearly palpable.

It didn't get another chance to hurl anymore threats as the two twili unleashed their attacks at once from either side of the monstrosity, stunning it before link rushed forward sword once more glowing brightly as he unleashed a devastating spin attack, slicing the ghastly face in half.

There was a choked sound as the fire started to sputter and the head disintegrated into a pile of ash. Embers flicked around as the flames died fell to the floor. Link was breathing heavily as he grasped his left arm, the angry red burn feeling akin to having it pierced by one hundred needles.

The shadows covering the exits and the windows quickly dissipated allowing access to them once more and the orange light of dusk to seem into the throne room.

Midna let out a sigh, wiping her brow and giving her usual impish smile to link before she eyes was caught on something beyond him. Suddenly recalling that there was still a threat in the room Link turned to face the usurper king who was staring at the pile of ash with an unreadable expression, partially due to his helmet now only covering select bits of his face as it had not only been cracked but very nearly destroyed. Something, however, was different about him. It took a moment for Link to place it until he realized it was Zant's eyes.

While still burning with anger and an unquenchable hunger, they no longer looked like they were balancing on the brink of insanity. However this only served to make Link more wary, how much of what just happened was that spirits influence, and how much of it was Zant himself?


	3. True Nature

"Why did you help us beat that thing?" Midna bristled as she gazed at Zant, who's fury seemed to be cooling. Link was inching closer to her so, if the tyrant snapped, he could use himself to shield her. He wasn't in much condition to fight anymore, the light from the sols within his sword was now dimly glowing. His left arm was sending waves of pain up his arm and nearly useless. Link only hopped that he would at least give Midna the chance to run for it if the need arose.

When Zant finally turned to look at the two of them, his cracked helmet broke apart as it tried to recede back into his ruined armor. The bits that remained, stuck jaggedly out of his shoulders as the rest bounced nosily on the floor. his eyes were cold and his voice was bitter. How could he not have seen that such a creature was tricking him? The answer was simple, and it fueled the icy fire that was burning with him.

"I do not need the tainted power of a false god, nor do I need that menace alive in this realm or any other."

"False god? Did you honestly believe that such a thing was a god?" Midna asked disbelieving. She knew Zant was an idiot but that was well beyond her ability to understand.

"Do you recall, dear Midna," Zant sneered, his head tilting up to look down at her. "The day of your coronation? The day you stole away _my_ throne?"

Midna bared her fangs at him, knowing full well that day and annoyed at him for even assuming that he had any right to the throne. However, before she could interject into his rant, he continued on.

" _I_ was the one meant to be the next ruler, but would those old fools recognize me as their king? No. And as such I was denied the magic powers befitting our ruler."

Zant turned his gaze to the ceiling, recalling that day now with disdain. The day he thought he had found a savior to help him answer the call of his destiny.

"On that day I was flung into a fit of despair and hatred for everyone and everything. Within those thralls of emotion, while I gazed up towards the heavens I found... a _god_."

The false king practically spat the words as he crushed the pile of ash that remained on the floor beneath his foot.

"He _gifted_ me his power, promising that it would be able to grant me anything I desired. As I tested the limit of the powers I was given, I started to devise a plan to take what should have rightfully been mine. Drunk off of power and everything I ever wished for within my grasp, I was unable to see him for what he truly was. I should have known something was off when he told me his price, he merely asked, that I merge both worlds together. Something that I was already planning on."

Shaking his head at his own foolishness, Zant turned his back on the two hero's, he knew they were in no condition to fight any longer.

"Now that I am free of his power I can see clearer now. The bitterness is still present from that time but I can understand things I was never able to grasp before. And I know now what needs to be done."

Link hadn't loosened a muscle but his body was beginning to lock in place which was why when Zant made his move, the hero was caught off guard.

Midna was just as shocked when Zant flung around, a sleeved arm outstretched as a large disembodied hand shot forward and grasped her tight. She let out a squeak of protest as the hands' fingers forcefully removed the fused shadow she wore as a mask.

As she struggled to keep it on, using her hair as a hand of her own to keep it in place the hand continued squeezing until she couldn't breathe. Unable to keep up her strength she lost the battle and the fused shadow popped off her head and flew over to zant to join the others that he had produced.

The hand dropped Midna hard on the ground and she sucked in a deep breath of air, coughing all the while.

"It was arrogant of me to toss you out into the world knowing full well you had a piece of our tribes old magic." Zant mocked as the rest of his ruined armor fell from him and the fused shadows moved to take their place, forming new armor. "I thought it stood no chance against the power I was wielding but I understand now. Part of the true magic of the twili is that which was sealed away. As a thank you for gathering them for me I'll let you go once more. See how far you get in the world without _any_ power this time!"

With a deep rumbling laugh Zant took his leave disappearing from view and leaving Midna to crawl over to link who had fallen over and was working on gathering is strength to get back up.

"Link." She wheezed, "We need to stop him, that power corrupts everything, and if he unleashes it upon this land or yours it would take years to return things to normal. We need to find him-"

Before she could finish getting the words out, there was a deep rumbling and the sky outside darkened, bathing the entire world in darkness.

Link haphazardly stumbled to his feet and moved to the window. All the twili that had been purified by the sol and returned to their normal form were now disfigured more than they had been before. Brutish monstrosities lumbered towards the stone monolith that worked the portal into the world of light.

The hero felt his heart sink as he realized Zant was leading this new army of monsters through to his world to once again engulf it in darkness. He turned to Midna who too was shakily getting to her feet and didn't need him to say a word. His face always spoke volumes to her.

"It's bad isn't it?" She muttered moving to him. With a simple nod from Link she continued on, "We need to get back to your world..."

As she finished, she collapsed, link diving down to catch her. He sheathed his word awkwardly with his right and he picked up his friend and carried her out of the palace. Zant and his monsters had already left by the time the hero was able to re-traverse the castles many layers and stood a moment at the portal, gazing into the swirling designs that seemed to tunnel into the face of the chained stone.

This wasn't how the battle was supposed to end, and Link couldn't help but feel that it was only the beginning of the new challenges that laid ahead of him.


	4. Twilight Reigns

Energy thrummed through Zant as he exited the portal, the fused shadow armor that adorned him felt nearly alive with the energy of his tribe. How could he have ever thought that pretender's power was special? It did indeed allow him certain things but it was nothing like the power he felt now. He understood why Midna had sought it out now and he internally scolded himself for mocking it. Then again, on some level he must have realized the truth seeing as he had taken 3 of the pieces from her back at the spirit spring of the spirit lanayru.

The king gazed up at the sun that was shining brightly in the light blue sky and casting its rays upon the surrounding desert. He could feel the shadows on him hiss their displeasure at the fiery star that illuminated the world below it, like one bright burning sol that revolved around land. Though rather than grimace in irritation he merely smiled in delight. True, he would be having to retake the entire land he had already worked to conquer but something felt different this time around. There was almost a giddiness to him that had nearly been suppressed. He felt more focused, more himself than he had more. It was a curious thing, perhaps a bit of power drunkenness.

Raising his hands up to the heavens an orange ball blazed to life, shadow energy crackling around it and mixing with his pink energy, the energy of twilight. With one swift motion it was tossed into the air and exploded, bursting out and falling like a veil upon the land, blotting out the light of the sun and replacing the blue with the warmer tints of dusk. The curtain was up and his army began to move through. The fiends materialized out of the portal at the ready, hissing and grunting as they adjusted to their new environment but Zant was not going to simply take the pitiful forgotten prison has his fortress for this world.

Turning his masked eyes towards the horizon he could see the hyrulian castle silhouetted in the distance, still covered by a golden barrier which he now understood, as well as why his _god_ wanted it so. The two he had left weakened and powerless in the twilight realm probably thought that the ghastly menace was gone but Zant knew better. Having a piece of that power within him had proven useful in understanding how his foes thought.

All of them.

As he stepped forward towards the mirror of twilight, golden beams of light shone down from the tall medallions on the top of the prisons' spires. They were all aimed strait at the king of shadows and forced him to halt in his tracks. His shadow beasts roared and backed away from the harsh rays, but Zant didn't shy away from them after his initial flinch. Standing tall he gazed up to see the spectral forms of the sages floating atop their respective spires.

"You shall go no farther..." They all seemed to say at once. Though they did not seem to speak their voices echoed around the open roof top, and it would have been intimidating indeed if they were talking to anyone else. In fact this tiny hint of rebellion was enough to fill Zant's chest with excitement, something he was unaccustomed to, as if his emotions had been heightened. The fused shadows began to fill him, pouring their magic and energy inside him till he felt he would nearly burst. His excitement turn to fury and he bent as if in submission.

The sages looked to one another before noticing that darkness was pouring into the ground from the king and shadows began to crawl along the ground, eating up the light that it touched. Stunned and concerned they tried to fight but like a snake striking the shadows curled around the spires, taking physical forms as they attacked. Piercing the light of the sages and forcing them to burst, sending flecks of light into the atmosphere.

Their soundless screams of pain left a mark in the very air itself, as palpable as the stones of the prison itself.

Zant breathed hard as he shook, trying to call the energy back but it merely fizzled out of existence. The energy he felt wanting to burst from him slowly ebbed away and as it did, took a small piece of his sanity with it. Such a small thing as emotion was enough to trigger the fused shadows. The magic of the ancient heretics was indeed powerful and hard to control but the king refused to be bested by something he was controlling. It would bend to his will and he would not allow it to over take him again. Imagine all he could do with such power if it did not merely use him as a tool to expel its boundless energy.

With a firm grip on his emotions and his mind, the king of twilight stood tall, much to the excitement of his ghoulish army who seemed to have fed off of his own excitement and energy. They were getting restless, they needed to find a fight and their king couldn't deny them that. He hoped there was a decent resistance waiting for him, he wanted to show them the true power of their new king.

The portal seemed to hum as it opened wider and Zant glanced back at it. The hero and the former princess were wanting out, undoubtedly to follow him. To stop him. With a devilish grin he raised a hand to the mirror. He may not have been able to shatter it before but now he welded the irrefutable proof of his right to rule and he would scatter ever single shard to the farthest reaches of the land to keep them imprisoned and watch them slowly go mad with worry and pain. Watching the hero become a beast in the half light of the world. Energy formed in his palm yet something stopped him and caused it to dissipate. A small nagging that fought desperately. It was a dangerous little voice, a high pitched sound that held the signs of madness and all it said was.

Now what would be the fun in that?

Plenty.

The argument should have ended there, if they were stuck in that realm, he won for good. Midna was now powerless without the abilities she was siphoning off of the fused shadow, but as the energy charged up in his hand once more he felt the hesitation grip him and the energy fizzled out once more. How frustrating. Winning was in his grasp, even the smallest hint of doubt about his rightful place as king wouldn't matter. Even if the mirror only broke into pieces that was still enough to ensure that those two would never return the world of light. Well, the world formerly full of light.

The voice began to shriek at him internally, filling him with thoughts of all kinds but he forced it down. He would not put his victory in jeopardy again and he wanted those two alive. Alive and suffering. Alive as a thank you for aiding him in expelling the false god that had inhabited his body. Suffering for all the trouble they put him through, denying him what was rightfully his the entire time. The thoughts of Midna, weak and helpless as she watched her precious companion fade into nothing but a shadow was enough to quell the arguments that had begun to rally within him. The feeling of wholeness he had been enjoying for the briefest of moments had faded and he once again felt split yet this time he had nothing to turn to as the cause.

For the final time Zant charged his attack, a shadowy orb with amaranth sparks flicking around it. If he hadn't been so certain he won, he would have been concerned over what the outcome might have been but alas, he gave it no thought as he hurled the energy orb towards the mirror portal and watched it begin to crack.


	5. Into the Darkness

Link was carrying Midna towards the monolithic stone when a deep rumble began to shake the foundation of hte bit of land they were on. The blue eye'd warriors gaze drifted to the swirling patterns of the mirror that was projected onto the smooth surface and felt dread uncoil in his chest as cracks began to form on it. Midna squirmed out of his arms and hopped down staring in horror as the the cracks expanded and the portal shattered apart. Eyes wide in disbelief she darted forward, pounding her small fists on the cold rock.

"No!" The small imp cried as she floated around the stone's surface, not quite believing her eyes. Link stood motionless a moment, tired and exasperated as he watched his friend try to will the portal back into existence, but it was gone. They had just got the pieces back together and the mirror was broken yet again. How many pieces this time? Two? Six? Twenty? Honestly the number didn't matter because there was no way to get them back together now. Even if another person in hyrule was brave enough to attempt to bring them together they would be hard pressed with the usurper king on the loose. The hylians hands clenched into fists but not before it sent a wave of pain up through his left arm. The burn he had received from his fight with the flaming spirit still hurt, as if he had been touched by darkness itself, more than just fire.

Sighing, Link looked up to see Midna on her knee's fists and forehead pressed to the stone. Gingerly he walked over and placed his good hand comfortingly on her shoulder. She looked up at him, her eyes moist with unshed tears. She had gone through so much and to have everything snatched away so quickly. He offered a reassuring smile but sadness in her eyes only deepened.

"Link... I'm sorry. I dragged you into this mess and now you're stuck here too." She muttered turning away from him. Grimacing, he nodded but something inside him refused to believe that this was permanent. Perhaps it was his vivid memories of the fields of his land, or the light of the sun as it caressed him on a summer day, but he could not accept that there was no other way.

Even if he spoke his thoughts however, he knew that Midna would find little comfort in them. All he could to was wait for her to pick herself back up before they could form a plan to find a way out.

A short while passed as the orange light of the world seemed to change from a warm orange to a cool pink. The colors mixing together in the sky in a way that would have been quite beautiful, were the black clouds not around that seemed to be ever present. Midna was still less than talkative and Link had begun itching to move. He needed some action, something to take his mind off their predicament, even if it was just walking and exploring it would have been better than nothing. Finally Midna stood and hovered over to Link, not looking him in the eye for the longest time.

"I don't suppose theirs any point in waiting around here, is there?" She asked in her normal garbled speech. Thankful, Link nodded and got to his feet, having been sitting a way from his friend to give her some space. "I doubt there's anything around here that could really help us but perhaps we should try anyway."

She wanted a distraction too, he could tell. Perhaps it was a long shot but as Link looked off the edge of the platform to see others like it floating beyond. Some were larger and some were smaller. Some were hidden in the shadows of others and each one seemed to feel like it's own little environment. Some looked like homes from a great city that had been split apart while others looked like wilderness with shadows that flitted through the darkness. A vast array of colors and architecture greeted his eyes as a cloud moved and the half light hit it. Though in ruins the glory of what it once was still could be felt. He doubted this was an old forgotten building, perhaps Zant did more than just take the throne when he rose to power. The buildings seemed to heavily contrast with the castle behind the hero and filled his with a sense of determination. Would this also happen to Links own home if he let that madman do whatever he pleased?

The thought filled him not only with dread but a strange sense of resolve, he would find a way back, he had to. For the sake of not only Hyrule but for this one as well. A sad forgotten realm in the shadow of the light, destroyed by a power hungry tyrant.

Link glanced down at Midna, who too was gazing at the world below, eyes filled with sadness and regret. Perhaps going in wasn't the best thing for her, traipsing through the world she abandoned to this fate. It was something Link himself could sympathize with, the thought of such a cowardly action would be with him for the rest of his life if he had done such a thing. Yet perhaps there she could find some of the confidence Link was feeling himself. He had to believe that, he would need his partner back if they were to get out of there.

With a deep breath he turned to Midna and offered a reassuring smile which earned him one in return, though small. With a nod the imp sunk into Links shadow as he locked eyes on the closest platform before and backed up. With all his might he dashed forward and lept off the patch of earth and dove strait into the forlorn parts of the Twilight.

 **~Dear Guest, you are clearly not understanding what I am saying. I know why the ending was the way it was. I know how Ganon works and how he thinks. I even enjoyed him in quite a few other Zelda games when he was flushed out and interesting. I get why Zant was set aside, but that doesn't mean I have to like it or agree with it. Hence I'm making this story as to what I think could have happened if they had kept Zant as the main villain. You may not mean insult but you continue to not understand what I'm trying to tell you. I can say nothing else really because I'm honestly so dumbfounded that you keep bringing this up when it has literally no bearing on what I'm writing.**

 **And frankly, if you don't like that I'm writing a story where Ganon plays a much smaller role in the narrative well then don't read it. Or at the very least wait until I have the entire thing posted because I have plenty of things to expand on and change more than just Ganon's role in the story. Things that were never learned in game and that I try to piece together and flesh out in a way that would make sense to the world.**


End file.
